False Gods
by Michael2
Summary: Colin finds himself in a village of Native Americans who worship a familiar god. COMPLETE
1. Survival Horror

Survival horror.  
  
That is how I would describe the experiences of the past two days.   
  
I arrived here two days ago on a mid-September morning. I hiked to the nearest town to find this world's version of my brother as well as know more abpout the world around me.  
  
I was reading about American history in the public library when this fellow showed up. I looked at him, and noticed something was wrong. His skin was covered in scabs and seemed to be rotting off. His eyes showed no sign of humanity in him.  
  
And there was blood all over his mouth.   
  
He walked right over to me, moaning this chilling moan.He was walking towards me, with his arms outstretched.  
  
"Stay back!" I shouted, holding up the American history book. He grabbed me and pulled me right to him.  
  
I managed to shove the Houghton-Mifflin textbook in his mouth.  
  
I ran away from the table where I had been peacefully reading. I looked into one of the side rooms, and saw a bunch of people crouching around. I heard chewing sounds. I found out they were chewing the flesh of a human.  
  
Apparently, something had turned these humans into flesh-eating zombies!  
  
I went to the front entrance, but there were a lot of zombies there. They saw me, and their first instinct was to walk to me. I had to go out through the fire exit, setting off an alarm.  
  
I found out that the whole town was overrun with zombies. The police were battling them, putting up barricades and stuff, but the zombies broke through the barricades and ate them to death.  
  
I had to stick through the back alleys of this town. Alopng the way, I picked up a Beretta M93R pistol and a Remington M1100 shotgun. Quite a few times, I had run-ins with zombies, shooting them until they were in a pool of blood, or blasting their heads off withn the shotgun.   
  
From what I had heard from the human survivors, there was a leak in a biologocal research lab a few days ago. A virus infected people and made them sick. This disease turned them into zombies with an appetite for human flesh. I saw one guy named Ed, whose right hand was eaten off by the zombies. At that point, I was no longer concerned with finding a way to reunite with my friends, but just staying alive long enough before my next slide.  
  
My trip through the streets of this zombie-infested city led me to a warehouse which just three daysd ago was used to store auto parts. There were already survivors in there. When I had first got here, I was greeted with pistols and shotguns and machine guns and God knows what else.   
  
I mostly listened to what the people said. Some of them told me what they were doing when the zombies made their first attack, others shared their pain of seeing their loved ones eaten by zombies-or becoming one of them. Some of them hoped that the California Army National Guard would come to the rescue.   
  
I wondered if Quinn had ever been through anything like this.  
  
I told the others about myself, including travel to parallel Earths.  
  
"Can you take us with you?" asked Mary, one of the survivors.  
  
"No," I said. "There is no way to take you back here."  
  
So we waited for a rescue that might never come.  
  
It was nighttime, my last night here. I would leave this hellish place soon. I just hope that it would be a place of relative calm.  
  
We heard gunshots just outside the door. Then there was knocking. Clayton, one of the survivors here, went to the door.  
  
"Help me!: someone shouted. "there are zombies here."  
  
"We can't open that door," said Clayton, "Or else the zombies will break through here."  
  
"He might need our help," said Mary.  
  
"No, we can not."  
  
Then there were more gunshots, and the door was kicked open. I saw a uniformed police officer get in.  
  
"Close the door!" he shouted.   
  
Then I saw zombies grab him, biting the back of his neck.Tghe zombies started pouring in to the warehouse.  
  
There was no time to talk. I blasted away at the zombies with my shotgun, and a few other survivors also blasted away with their guns.I saw a couple of zombies knock Clayton over, and I could hear his screams as they ate him alive.  
  
Another zombie was coming for me. She was dressed in a short skirt and a tank top. Long blond hair flowed from her head. She must have been beautiful before the infection. Now, she was trying to eat me out.  
  
She was too close for me to wield the Remington, so I clutched her neck and squeezed toght, keeping her from opening her mouth.  
  
I heard shots being firted and the screams of those whom the zombies were eating. I felt weightless and detached. I wondered if one of the zombies got me, and I was dead.  
  
Then I found myself greeted by a gentle breeze. I was outdoors; I had slid again.  
  
And it looked like I brought someone with me!   
  
This zombie was still focused on eating me, completely oblivious to the change in her surroundings.   
  
I put my knee right in her abdomen hard, knocking her back. Then I blasted away with the shotgun.  
  
Shew was down. But then I noticed she was crawling towards me in the shallow water, even with her right leg blasted off!  
  
I deicided to leave her there. I started running until I was a good distance from her.  
  
I looked around at my new surroundings. I was clearly in a marsh of some sort, with tall grasses growing. The water at my feet indicated that it either rained here recently, or a river had flooded the marsh recently. There were also a few eucalyptus and willow trees growing. I looked up, and saw all the constellations.  
  
I lookeds at my watch, which told me how much time was left. I would be spending a few days here. I looked around, and did not see the lights of any town or settlement. I guess I'd have to sleep outdoors.  
  
I kept walking until I found some dry land. I removed my wet shoes and socks. I tucked the shotgun under my arm to shoot anything that might try to make a meal out of me. And then I went to sleep.  
  
During my dreams, I encountered a familar old man.  
  
"Hello, Colin," he said.  
  
"What?" I asked.  
  
"I'm glad to see you okay."  
  
"I almost became zombie food!" I shouted. "Why would God put me in such a place?"  
  
"You survived, Colin. And your actions allowed others to survive too."  
  
"Not all of them."  
  
"Listen, Colin, you will soon learn more about your heritage."  
  
I woke up, still remembering that dream. It was already morning, and the sun shone from the east. I got up and continued to walk.  
  
Usually, I would bring some food and water just before a slide so I can have something to eat. But there had not been time to do that, on account of me trying to avoid being eaten myself. I looked around the marshland, and I was glad that nothing like a tiger or a dinosaur decided to eat me.   
  
I walked a few miles, when I saw it.  
  
It was a huge pyramid, like the ones the Mayans built on the world I grew up in over a thousand years ago. I could see some buildings near the hill where the pyramid was built. The village was small, about a square mile or so. It was surrounded by farmland. I hid in the tall grass of the marshlands which the village and the farms were built upon.  
  
I could see people cultivating the fields. They were clearly Indians.  
  
On my world, Indians in North America were conquered by the United States. Here, though, there does not seem to be nay presence of any conquerers of these band of Indians, except maybe the pyramid sitting atop that hill.  
  
These Indians could be ruled by the Aztecs. In the abscence of any civilization originating from Europe or Asia, the Aztecs would be the ones to rule southern California.  
  
I decided to walk right into the village. I figured that I might find someone willing to give me food in exchange for labor.  
  
I walked along a dirt road. I noticed ox tracks, footprints, and tire tracks on the mud. I saw an Indian dirving an ox pulling a heavy steel plow.   
  
I finally reached the village. The village had a mix of wooden and brick buildings. The main road through the village was unpaved, and it was at least two hundred feet wide. Walking through the village, I saw a market where various goods such as food and cloth and tools were made. It the distance I could see a huge brick structure with smoke coming out; it looked like a blast furnace or something.  
  
I noticed all the Indians staring at me, as if they never seen a white man before. I also noticed that while they clothing looks traditional, they seem to be made of some synthetic fabric. There must be an industrialized city nearby.  
  
"Hello," I said to one of the Indians in the market.  
  
The Indian said a bunch of words to me that they did not understand.  
  
"Uh, do you speak English?" I asked.  
  
The Indian man just kept saying something. From the tone of his voice, I guessed he was asking me if I spoke his language.  
  
I spoke to a few more Indians. None of them seem to understand English.  
  
I heard someone talking to me. One look at this person's dress indicates that he is in a position of authority.  
  
"Do you know anyone who speaks English?" I asked. "I'm hungry and I'll willing to work for food."  
  
The fellow just smiled and walked off, although I am sure that this village's version of police would keep on eye on this strange white man who did not speak any of their languages-and one who was carrying a shotgun.   
  
I decided to go to the pyramid structure on top of the hill. I figured it must be a temple, where all of the priests are. Maybe one of them knew how to speak english, and might even offer food in exchange for sweeping the floors or something.  
  
Sweeping floors for money. It sure was a far cry from being the vice president of a securities company, as I was last month.  
  
There was a road winding up the hill to the pyramid, wide enough for a car. I looked back, and could see the whole village from here, and all of the people walking about. I also noticed power lines going into the pyramid. There must be an electrical generating plant somewhere.   
  
Then I saw an image appear in the blue sky right above the pyramid. This must be the object of their worship.  
  
I was all too familiar with the image.  
  
It was the image of a kromagg. 


	2. Rakakot

I've had quite a few encounters with the kromaggs in the past year I have been sliding. They are people who exist in some dimensions, like the world I was born in. After the kromaggs abandoned my world, they set up an empire and started conquering other versions of Earth. They hope to reconquer their homeworld one day. A slidecage blocks their return.  
  
I would have to escape. There were mountains a few miles north of here; I could hide in the wilderness. I had a pistol and a shotgun, so hunting for food would not be a problem. Being the only white man within one hundred miles, I would stick out among the Indians like a sore thumb or something.   
  
I walked down the path back to the village. I did not run, since it might attract the attention of authorities who definitely serve the Kromagg Dynasty. I am certainly non persona grata among the Dynasty kromaggs.   
  
I reached the village. There were still people milling about. I walked slowly and carefully along the dirt street.  
  
Then someone put his hand on my shoulder. I looked, and saw a big old Indian. He said something to me.  
  
He started pulling me.  
  
This was it. Now was the time to run.   
  
I broke his hold and then starting running down the street, kicking up the dirt as I did so. I heard a whistle blow. I heard footsteps following. From the sounds of the footsteps, it seems the whole village was summoned to catch me!  
  
I was a pretty fast fellow, having been chased by many people over the past year or so.  
  
Then I saw the gates ahead of me being shut. I was just a few feet behind the gate when it shut. My exit was blocked.  
  
I went down another street, which was clear of traffic. I kept running as fast as my two feet could carry me.  
  
Then I stumbled. I found myself trapped in a net. The Indians must have gone on the rooftops. I was surrounded. There was no escape.  
  
This was a situation I was all too familiar with.   
  
I was placed in an ox-drawn wagon and then the ox pulled the wagon up the road leading to the pyramid on top of the hill. After a few minutes, the wagon reached the summit of the hill and the entrance to the pyramid.   
  
some guards came from the pyramid and opened the wagon. The first thing I noticed was that they were kromaggs. Both of them were armed with rifles. I was chained and then led inside. My Beretta M93R and Remington M1100 were confiscarted.  
  
The walls were made of brick, and featured the same architecture as the pyramids built by the Mayans. I figured the kromaggs mostly kept the structure the same. I did notice electric lights, although I did not know if the pyramid had an electrical grid before the arrival of the kromaggs.   
  
I was placed in a cell at the bottom level of the pyramid. This was one cell ina cell block of twelve. One guard, a kromagg, kept watch. There wasn't much to do except wait for my next slide.  
  
An Indian woman, whose style of dress indicated her being a priest, served me some food. It was basically an unleavened bread, like the kind Jews ate before passover. At least I won't starve here.   
  
I just hope that the kromaggs do not decide to kill me.   
  
It was hours later when some guards came over. They said something to me, but I did not understand their language any better than I understood the Indians' language. I was taken to an elevator, which went up. I then walked down the stone floors of the halls until I entered a small room with a table and two chairs and a lamp hanging overhead.  
  
It was half an hour later when a kromagg in a robe entered. There was only one other person in the room, a guard.  
  
"Hello," he said, in English. At lkeast there was someone whom I could converse with. "I'd like to ask you some questions."  
  
"Like what?" I asked.  
  
"Who are you?" he asked.  
  
"My name is Colin Mallory," I said.  
  
"And what were you doing in Puvungna?"  
  
That must be the name of that Indian village. "I was just passing through."  
  
"Your dress is clearly not in style with the locals. Where did you come from?"  
  
"Well, I came from El Segundo."  
  
He sat silent for half a minute. "That sounds Spanish. How did you get here from Spain?"  
  
"Maybe I flew," I said.  
  
"With what wings?" he sneered. "No one from this planet invented airplanes. And I confiscated those weapons you have. The manufacturers of those weapons never existed on this world. So my guess is that you're from another world. So tell me where you came from now, or I shall kill you and eat your eyes for dinner."  
  
So I told him. I told him that my brother Quinn invented a sliding generator, and I went along. I got separated from him in June. I had been sliding on my own, without the aid of external equipment, since then.  
  
"Interesting," he said. "This session is over."  
  
The guard then took me back to my cell.  
  
After a long while, the guard took me from my cell and led me elesehwre inside the pyramid. I was not taken to the same room where I met the kromagg interrogator. Instead, I was taken to what appaeared to be a dining room, complete with a dining table covered in a white tablecloth. I guessed this is where the kromaggs had official banquets. Aside from the guard, the Indian woman who served me my lunch was there.  
  
Then the kromagg whom I had spoken with a few hours ago entered, dressed in his priestly robe.  
  
"You must wonder why I am here, human," he said. "You make good company. I want to get to know you better."  
  
"How about just letting me go," I said.  
  
"You have a sense of humor, human. You intruded into our domain, and we investigaste those who intrude."  
  
"I did not intend to come here. I'll be on my way out. I'll just let you and the humans of this world alone. I have nothing against you."  
  
"Perhaps I should introduce myself," said the kromagg. "I am Rakakot. I was once a subject of the Kingdom of Beruth, and now am a civil occupation officer for Outpost 69, as we call this world.  
  
"Our scouts first surveyed this world fourteen years ago. It was just at the beginnings of industrialization. Our manta bombers leveled the regional powers of this world, and our armies occupied it by the end of the year. We took most of the people back to Outpost 1, our temporary home, until we reclaim our birthright!"  
  
The Indian woman poured us wine and served some sort of cooked fowl.  
  
"Their food is actually pretty good, rivaling the best chefs who once lived in Beruth," said Rakakot.  
  
"Tell me about these people whom you watch over," I said.  
  
"That village is called Puvungna. The people there lived on their agriculture for centuries. At the time our scouts first arrived here, Puvungna swore loyalty to some humans who called themselves Aztecs. They were ruled by an emperor who made his capital south of here. This pyramid was built by order of the Aztec emperor about three hundred years ago.   
  
"The only contact the people of Puvungna had with the Aztecs were the priests and soldiers the emperor sent here. they paid tribute with food, wood, and the lives of their people. They were kept uneducated, illiterate, and with barely enough to eat. their sons and daughters were sacrificed to the Aztec gods. And it remained that way until we came along and blasted the Aztec capital to ruins. They regard us as saviors sent by the Great Spirit to deliver them from the Aztecs and their cruel gods. We demand far less from them than the Aztecs did. You notice our servant here?"  
  
"Yes," I said, looking at the Indian lady.  
  
"Her mother was sacrificed by Aztec priests. She knew, even as a little girl, that the sacrifices were made for the benefit of the Aztecs, and not her family or her tribe. she and the others welcomed us, and she gladly serves me.  
  
"You know, it is a great irony that these people would think of us as our saviors. Their ancestors' counterparts on my homeworld were savages who waged war against my ancestors for centuries, waging war by indiscriminate destruction regardless of age, sex, and conditions. My ancestors kept the savages at bay for centuries. They made truces, and the savages just broke the truces. When humans from across the sea brought along a disease that wiped out almost all the savages, we were grateful-until we discovered they were as savage as the humans they nearly wiped out."  
  
"I've seen what your people did," I said. "I've been to worlds that the Kromagg Dynasty conquered. And you are just as savage as the humans your ancestors fought."  
  
"So tell me where you are really from."  
  
"Your homeworld, actually. My parents were among those whom you call savages. They sent me to another Earth when I was a baby. I would have never found my true heritage if my brother had not arrived on my world. I learned the truth; your people were the aggressors."  
  
"Ah, yes," said Rakakot. "So they say. Do you really believe them? You were too young to understand what was going on. It was a human king who ordered the use of the weapon that nearly destroyed my people, forced us to flee to a primitive overgrown jungle, and shut us out of our home!"  
  
I was sent back to my cell after dinner was over. I wondered who was telling the truth-my parents or this kromagg. After a year of sliding, I should know that nothing is what it seems at first.  
  
I looked towards the stone wall of the cell. I figured this cell block was where the sacrificial humans were once kept during the Aztec occupation. I wondered where Quinn and Rembrandt and Maggie were, and if they have found a way to bring me back to them. I wondered if they had an encounter with kromaggs that got them killed or captured.  
  
I lay down on the cot in my cell, and wondered if the kromaggs would kill me before I was scheduled to leave. I prayed to God, and hoped that He would lead me out of the wilderness.  
  
The next morning, the Indian lady served me breakfast, which was basically bread and pulpy orange juice. After finishing my breakfast, a guard came for me with chains.  
  
I was led outside to the terrace of the p[yramid. the sky was overcast. I could see Puvungna village and the farms surrounding it, Indians hoeing the fields.  
  
I was led upl the stairs that go to the top of the pyramid. In my mind's eye, I could see into the past, where Aztec priests led their sacrificial humans up this staricase to kill them for their gods. I wondered if that was going to happen to me; if I was to be sacrificed in front of the Indians as part of a kromagg ritual. I guess Rakakot would then eat my eyes in front of his congregation.   
  
"The body and blood of Mallory," my mind's ear could hear Rakakot say.  
  
As I reached the final steps, I could see what was on top of the pyramid.  
  
It was a helicopter. The propellors were already spinning.  
  
I was shoved into the helicopter and it flew away.  
  
I could see the landscape below. I could see wild, untamed rivers. The ground is covered in a scrub forest. Soon I was tree-covered mountains.  
  
There was a scrub-covered valley right below me. I coiuld see some structures.  
  
It was an airfield.  
  
It was a small airfield, just a runway, some quonset huts, and a tower. There was a manta ship parked next to the runway, and a tanker truck filled with jet fuel parked near the manta ship.   
  
The airfield appeared to get bigger and bigger as the helicopter went down. Soon its struts touched the surface.   
  
The guards put me on board the manta ship. The interior had a few seats for passengers. A guard with a club stood by.   
  
I could feel the manta ship move. I could feel the rumbling of the ship as it taxied down the runway. I could feel the inertia as the ship pulled up.  
  
. I looked at my watch, which read sixty-nine hours. then the readout got all jumbled up. I wondered what happened. I reset it to get a readout of how much time was left.  
  
There were thirty-seven hours left.  
  
This ship was landing on another version of Earth. 


	3. Outpost 1

It was about an hour after takeoff that I felt the impact of the landing gears upon the hard surface of the runway. I felt being slightly pushed forward as the manta transport slowed down.   
  
I saw the door at the side of the passenger cabin open. The guard beckoned for me to move out. I walked along the metal floor of the cabin, my footsteps echoing through the chamber. I looked out through the door, and the guard pushed me with his club.  
  
The steps of the stairs leading from the dooor to the ground were made of metal, and I heard my shoes making this metallic sound as I descended.  
  
When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I looked around.  
  
I was in an outer taxiway on an air base. There was a transport truck parked a few feet away from the manta transport ship, and I also saw guards armed with rifles. In the distance I could see manta fighters and a control tower as well as hangars.   
  
I also noticed trees beyond the boundaries of the air base. I noticed that the tree trunks extended far below the level of the runways, indicating that the air base was built on a platform on top of the trees!   
  
One of the kromagg guards went up to me. "Welcome to Outpost 1," he said to me in English.  
  
I was placed in the back of a van that was designed for prisoner transport. The doors were shut and I felt the van move.  
  
The van ride was only five minutes. The guards opened the door, and led me into a building. I was photographed and fingerprinted in what appeared top be a prisoner processing center. I was then taken to a cell and locked. It looked the same as any other cell, as jail cells were an environment I was all too familiar with.  
  
A few hours later, the guards shackled me and took me to another building in the air base. I was taken inside this building and led to this room with all sorts of equipment. There were kromaggs in there wearing white lab coats. They had me seated in front of this big complicated device which hummed as the kromagg scientists flipped switches and turned knobs. I saw one opf them go over to a color monitor screen. After an hour in the lab, I was taken back to my cell.   
  
After a few hours, I was getting very hungry. I heard footsatep,s hoping someone was coming to feed me. But it was a guard with nothing but a billy club. I was taken out of my cell and put in a small room.   
  
I saw someone enter the room. I noticed she was a human. After two seconds of looking st her, I recognized her.  
  
She was Mary. I spent over a day with one of her duplicates, hiding from flesh-eating zombies.  
  
"Hello," she said.  
  
"Hello, Mary," I said.  
  
"You know my name?"  
  
"I've met another version of you," I said.  
  
"Welcome to Outpost 1, the headquarters of the Kromagg Dynasty."  
  
She put a tray on the table. On top was a plate with a mixture of vegetables and meat, and a glass of cold water.  
  
Hungry as I was I quickly devoured the meal.  
  
"Tell me about yourself."  
  
So I did.  
  
"So you came from their homeworld," she said.  
  
"Yes, a war broke out there, and my parents hid me on an alternate Earth so I could survive. My brother built a sliding machine and thus found me. The kromaggs conquered the Earth he came from."  
  
"They were driven out by the warlike humans."  
  
"As I heard it, the kromaggs were the aggressors."  
  
"the humans kept encroaching on their territory for centuries. They already dominated the eastern part of their world. They had every right to reclaim their birthright."  
  
"Where did you come from, Mary?" I asked. "Were you born here?"  
  
"No, I wasn't. It was thirteen years ago that they came to my world. They took me here to this world. They gave me food, water, shelter, a job."  
  
"But you don't have freedom, Mary," I said. "You're their slave. I've seen what the kromaggs did on other worlds."  
  
"And humans are any better? Humans never enslaved other humans, or kromaggs for that matter? My masters told me about human-domionated worlds, and the atrocities that humans commit."  
  
I had to concede that point. The history of my adopted world contains atrocities rivaling those of the Kromagg Dynasty-and no kromaggs ever lived there, as far as I could tell.  
  
"Mary," I said, "you have to realize that the kromaggs whom you serve are evil. They are conquering other worlds to acquire slaves and food. Listen, do you remember what your life was like before the kromaggs came?"  
  
"I used to go to school," she said. "I had this bike I used to ride, and sometimes I would play with my Barbie dolls. I was watching My Little Pony when they came."  
  
"What?" I asked.  
  
"It was a TV show," she said. "about a bunch of talking ponies. It's amazing I could remember that. Anyway, the show was interrupted by a broadcast that the capital was destroyed. The next day, the kromaggs' tanks rolled into my city. They took me from my parents and my sister."  
  
"Listen, Mary, there is hope. We'll find a way to destroy this evil empire."  
  
"My family is gone. There's nothing left."  
  
I could sense that she lost all hope, that she saw nothing of her life except a future of eternal servitude of the kromaggs. She believed the Dynasty's propoganda line without question.  
  
The someblack-uniformed guards entered the room; I was taken from the room.  
  
But I noticed I was not going back to the cell block. Instead, the guards took me to the building where I had been examined.  
  
They led me through the white-tiled hallways and into a room with all sorts of equipment and a cage. I was placed inside the cage, which had a bed in it.  
  
There was nothing to do but lay down. I looked at my watch to see how long I would be here.  
  
The readout read twenty-six hours. But the watch was not counting down.  
  
Then I realized that the equipment in this room was designed to anchor me to this dimension.  
  
There was no escape.   
  
I sat in that cage for God knows how long. Every now and then, scientists would come and take measurements of me with strange instruments. I guess it had something to do with the fact that I was unstuck, and they never had a chance to study someone who was unstuck. But then I would look at my watch, with the timer frozen at twenty-six hours, and I knew that I was at this moment stuck.   
  
There was no clock on the wall, nor were there windows allowing me to see outside. I couldn't tell if it were night or day, rain or shine. I was just to become a specimen as the kromaggs figured out wehat had happened to me. I also knew that one of the goals of the Kromagg Dynasty was to bypass the slidecage, and they would not be keeping me alive in here if they thought that I did not have the key to cirumventing the slidecage and conquering my home world.  
  
And it was clear that as soon as they found a way around the slidecage, or thought they could not get anything useful to me, that I would be killed.   
  
I woke up at the sound of something making noise by striking the bars of the cage with some object. It was Mary, who came to serv e me some food. There was a slot in the cage where the plate was passed. that was also where the bedpan was passed.  
  
"Mary," I whispered, "you've got to get me out of here."  
  
"I can't disobey my masters; they will punish me," she protested.  
  
"They took you from your family, destroyed your home. You're just going to submit. Listen, Mary, what's gonna happen to you if they decide they don't need you anymore? I have a feeling that their retirement plan consists of a swift execution."  
  
"What can I do?" she asked.  
  
"You can unlock the cage, give me a chance to escape."  
  
One of the guards tapped Mary on the shoulder.  
  
"I have to go now," she said.  
  
I just decided to finish my meal.   
  
There was nothing to do in the cage except look around the lab. Sometimes, scientists would come in, babble in an incomprehensible language while they operated the instruments and equipment, thud breaking the monotony. None of them bothered to speak to me.  
  
I looked at the equipment I suspected was keeping me here. I hoped that there would be a twenty-six hour power outage so I could get out of this cage.   
  
I saw someone enter the room; it was Rakakot, who questioned me in the previous world.  
  
"Hello, Mr. Mallory," he said. "I hope you are comfortable in there."  
  
"What are you doing here?" I asked.  
  
"I had to make a report to the High Council on Outpost 1," he said. "They wanted to know about the affairs of the section of the world I was assigned to, and they wnated to know about you.  
  
"You know, Mallory, you are about to become a hero. "Our scientists claim that your condition will allow us to bypass your slidecage. I don't understand how, but they sounded convincing to me and the High Council. You will be known as the one who made the repatriation of our home possible."  
  
"My parents are on that world," I said. "I won't let you hurt them."  
  
"And what are you going to do about it?" asked Rakakot. "You're just stuck there in that cage, and those scientists told me you can not slip to another dimension."  
  
"Maybe their equipment is not working." I then looked intensely into Rakakot's eyes. "Why do you hate us? What did I ever do to you? Or those humans who were living on worlds where kromaggs never ventured?"  
  
"Who said I hate you?" he asked. "Or humans, for that matter? I serve the Dynasty. I provide aid to its allies and destroy its enemies as the Dynasty directs.  
  
"Eating the eyes of our slain enemies was a tradition among the kromagg peoples ever since they began their wars to repel the human invasions. Should the Dynasty decide that you should be killed, I shall have the privilege of eating your eyes."  
  
"Hoiw lucky of you," I said.  
  
"I must catch a flight back to Outpost 69, though it was nice to see my home away from home." Then Rakakot left the lab.  
  
It must have been hours later than Mary came back with a shiny new bedpan.  
  
"I don't need to go," I said.  
  
"Yes, you do," she said. As she did, she unlocked the cage.  
  
there was at least one guard posted in the lab at all times. Mary came to say something to the guard.  
  
And that was when I sprung! Before the guard could react, I came in with my fists blazing, putting the power of my whole body into each punch. In less than a minute, the guard was down.  
  
I left the lab. One glance at my watch indicated that it was counting down again. If I don't get caught or killed, I'd be gone tomorrow.  
  
But this was not the time to think about the future, only about getting out of here.   
  
I walked calmly. Maybe the kromaggs would think I am just a human servant. I heard footsteps, so I ducked into a door. As it turned out, it was a broom closet. There was a broom and a mop, wiith a plastic container filled with a strong-smelling solvent, possiblt for mopping floors. The solvent felt slippery.   
  
I came out with the container of solvent, for it might be useful sometime. It became useful seconds later, when two guards spotted me. They ran after me, so I spilled the solvent on the floor. suddenly, the two kromaggs lost traction and fell right on their asses!   
  
I had to make a quick, straight run for the exit. Suddenly, without warning, I felt a tight squeeze on my throat., I looked and saw a black-uniformed guard, and this guy was as big as they came! I tried pulling his arms away, but his arms muscles were strong and intent on squeezing the life out of me.  
  
Then I remembered what to do. I quickly pried not at his arms, but his thumbsHis thumbs lost thewir grip on my neck an d with it, the rest of his hands. It left a wide opening, so I kneed him in the groin as hard as I could. then I delivered some swift, powerful punches to his face and then fled outside.  
  
I was now on the platform where the base's buildings were built. There has to be a way off, maybe to ground level. I looekd around.  
  
And then I saw a helicopter. I made a run for it, hopiong I did not get shot. Luck was with me, as the helicopter was not secure. I guessed the kromaggs did not count on anyone stealing the helicopter. I got into the seat and flipped the switches, hoping I did not hit the self-destruct switch. I heard the engine start and run. I pushed a lever, and then the helicopter rose into the air.  
  
I operated the levers and stick, hoping to fly it. The helicopter was flying eratically, as I couild see looking out the cockpit window as well as the radar. I then saw a bright beam of light shine past me. I looked at the radar, and there was someone following me. My erratic flying made it difficult for the pilot in the other craft to hit me with the laser beam.   
  
I knew I would not be safe in the clear sky, so I descended to the trees. I coild now see the massive tree trunks, which made redwoods look like matchsticks. I weaved and out of the trees, hoping that whatever was chasing me couldn't get a clear shot. I heard the impact of laser beams against the tree trunks mixed with the sound of the rotating propellor of the helicopter I borrowed. I looked at the instruments.   
  
Suddenly, I was jolted, and then the whole world spun around me! They must have gottten the tail rotor. I did my best to maintain control,. hoping to make a safe landing on the ground. A few more beams were fired at me.   
  
Then I heard an impact, and I felt as if I was in a free fall.  
  
This would be a sucky way to die. 


	4. Colin the Dino Rider

Colors.  
  
These colors focused into a shape.  
  
It looked like a face. Did I die and go to Heaven? Was I about to meet the Lord Jesus Christ?  
  
Then the face became clear, and it was clear that I was not looking at Jesus.  
  
I was still hurting. I certainly could not be in Heaven.  
  
"Where am I?" I asked.  
  
"Be still," said the young man whose face I was looking to. "You've been hurt. We found you in the wreackage of a helicopter. We took you to our village, healed you."  
  
I looked at my watch. There were fourteen hours left until I slide.  
  
I looked around. it seemed I was in a hut made of wood. The floor was just bare dirt.   
  
I was given some water to drink; I happily drank it.  
  
Another man came in. He was wearing simple clothes, just a shirt and pants. Blond hair covered his head, and his soutache was equally blond.  
  
"Hello there," he said in a British accent. "Are you feeling all right."  
  
"I'm just glad to be alive," I said.  
  
"You'd be in much worse shape if it weren't for our friend Wesley here," he said. "What is your name?"  
  
"I am Colin Mallory," I said. "I was brought here yesterday. I stole one of the kromaggs' helicopters and escaped, but I was shot down."  
  
"We saw the wreckage of one of the attack helicopters; it must have crashed intoone of these huge trees. Both the pilot and the gunner were killed. The forest is too thick to attack us with their fighters and bombers. My name is Jonathan Reed."  
  
"Mr. Reed," I said. "what is your back story?"  
  
"I was sergeant in the British Royal Army. In 1990, they came and attacked. Most of our forces were destroyed in the initial bombing raids. I tried to fight them, but there were too many of them. I was captured and then brought here. I was their slave for years before I escaped. Others have also escaped, and we stick together in small bands, trying to make a living on then forest floor."  
  
"So I am in one of your villages."  
  
"Yes. The forest which the maggs built their bases and cities on top of also serves to hide us from any aerial surveillance. Occasionally, there are ground patrols. We've had to move whenever a ground patrol finds one of our villages."  
  
I told Reed about my life and travels.  
  
"So these kromaggs are from Earth's counterpart in a parallel universe," he said. "the same version of Earth you were born in."  
  
"Yes," I said. "You would not get home even if you have a way to get back to England."  
  
I approached Wesley. "What's your deal?" I asked.  
  
"I was created here," he said. I looked at his teeth, and noticed he was a humagg.  
  
Humaggs were human-kromagg hybrids created in genetic engineering labs by the Dynasty. They have psychic powers of kromaggs, and look a lot like humans. Human woman are used to incubate these people.  
  
"I defected from the kromaggs," said Wesley. "I helped Jonathan and some others escape."  
  
Someone walked into the room. "Hey, Jon, is our patient now awake?" he asked.  
  
I looked, and saw Clayton. His duplicate had been eaten by zombies on another world.  
  
"Hello, Clayton," I said.  
  
"How do you know my name?" he asked.  
  
"I've met one of your duplicates," I said. I did not mention the circumstances.  
  
"Colin here has visited many parallel Earths," said Reed. "He was born on the world the maggs came from."  
  
"You were from their world?" asked Clayton.  
  
"Yes," I said. "From what I could tell, humans and kromaggs existed on that world. Around the time I was born, a war broke out between them. The kromaggs were forced to flee to another Earth in a parallel universe. The humans back home built a slidecage to prevent their return."  
  
"So you say," said Clayton. "How do we know you're not working for the maggs?"  
  
"I just escaped from them. i almost got killed crashing that helicopter. You don't think they would shoot down the helicopter I was lfying if they intended for me to escape?"  
  
"So you say. You could have a homing device."  
  
"If he had a homing device, the kromaggs would have found us by now," said Wesley.  
  
"Says you," snapped Clayton. "You're part kromagg; how do we know you're not working for them?"  
  
"Enough!" shouted Reed. "Wesley here saved my life and helped me escape from the kromaggs. We've been living in this giant jungle for years."  
  
"Sorry," said Clayton. "It's just that we have to be careful of traitors. After all, you're free because Wesley betrayed his kromagg masters."  
  
"True," said Wesley. "I am persona non grata among the Dynasty's High Command; they would kill me if they find me."  
  
"Still," said Reed, "Mallory here has not earned our trust."  
  
"So I am a prisoner here?" I asked.  
  
"Yes," said Reed. "If that story you told me was true, wou will be out of here by tonight. We won't be as cruel jailers as the kromaggs are. You will get plenty of food and water."  
  
Reed and Clayton left. "I'll stay with you," said Wesley."If there is anything you need."  
  
"I'll jusat be alone now," I said.  
  
I looked out of a small window built into the hut. I could see other huts, as well as gardens where food is grown. There were even children here. And I saw large reptiles that could only be dinosaurs.  
  
I had seen live dinosaurs on my previous slides before, even so much as spending an hour on a world where reptile people created civilization in North America, and perhaps other places on Earth. On my world, dinosaurs became extinct millions of years ago.   
  
The dinosaurs here were domesticated. I saw a human riding on top of a dinosaur outfittled with a harness and a saddle, like a horse.   
  
"We grow vegetables in the gardens," said Wesley. "We also do hunting to supplement our food."  
  
"Can I go out for some fresh air?" I asked.  
  
"Okay," said Wesley. He showed me a pistol. "If you try to make a run for it, I'll put a bullet in your back."  
  
I heeded his advice. I went out and smelled the air. It was a lot different than the city air I was used to.Through nthe canopy of leaves, I could see the sky covered with clouds. And the trees were huge, as big as skyscrapers. No wonder the kromaggs decided to build on top of them rather than clear the forest. I could hear the sounds of birds, or possibly pteradactyls.   
  
I looked up and saw a Negro man lead a chicken-sized dinosaur to a stump. Then he took an axe and chopped the head clean off.  
  
"That will be dinner," said Wesley.  
  
"How do dinosaurs taste?" I asked.   
  
"Maybe you'll find out," said Wesley.   
  
We both went back inside. "Where did you get weapons?" I asked.  
  
"I had this gun here when I busted Jonathan out of the slave camp," said Wesley. "We acquire weapons by ambushing kromagg patrols."  
  
"Did they ever find where you are?"  
  
"At least two times as I can remember. If there is a large attack force nearby, we abandon the huts and pack the tents and move out. A few of us stay behind to fire upon the attack force as we withdraw. We have very good tacticians, myself included. Of course, I have the added ability to find out if someone is really a kromagg."  
  
"I know they can disguise themselves as humans," I said.  
  
"It's not easy for them to find us. There are only a few places where the canopy is thin enough to allow their helicopters to fly down here. Most of their ground forces get down here by using huge cargo lifts that run up and down the tree trunks. If we could cut down the trees that suypport their base, we could deal them a crippling blow."  
  
"That wouild work," I said. "With you being down here and all."  
  
"We don't have the tools to chop down any of these trees," said Wesley. "anbd we can't just go up to the base and ask them if we could borrow a chainsaw to cut the trees down."  
  
"I see you have a sense of humor."  
  
Wesley and I spoke about each other, about my experiences, and his experiences.   
  
"So on that world, it was the humans who tried to exterminate the kromaggs?" asked Wesley.  
  
"That's right," I said. "Quinn and I thought it was home, until our parents tried to have us arrested. We got away by taking a train."  
  
"and where is your brother?" asked Wesley.  
  
"I don't know. I know he is looking for me, and a while ago he actually managed to bring me to him for a while." I changed the subjwect. "Wesley, how big is this forest?"  
  
"Pretty big," said Wesley. "The forest extends north and east all the way to the coastline. to the south, it extends over ten days' walk to a plain, and extends to the mountains to the west."  
  
"Can you draw a map of the continent we're on?" I asked.  
  
Wesley scribbled something on the dirt floor. I looked, and it was a rough approximation of South America. He drew an X showing our location, which is near the northern coast.  
  
I had traveled far. Though I traveled through many universes, this is the first time I've been to South America.  
  
"We're best off here. In the plains to the south, we would have no cover from manta fighters. The mountains to the west have a harsh climate, especially during the winter."  
  
Wesley went out, leaving me alone in my thoughts. When he came back, he brought some meat on a clay plate.  
  
"It is dinosaur meat," he said. I happily ate the meat. I knew I would be gone by tonight, hopefully where I won't be taken straight to jail.   
  
Dino meat did not taste so bad either. Maybe, in another universe, there are restaurants that serve dino meat.  
  
I was still laying on the cot a few hiours later when I heard a bell ring. It reminded me of a church bell. I hoped I would get another opportunity to attend Mass.  
  
I went out, and I saw this woman on top of a dinosaur.   
  
"Alert!" shouted a man. "We've spotted an attack force heading in this direction. We are ordering an evacuation."  
  
I went up to the scout. "How big is this attack force?" I asked.  
  
"Two tanks,three APC's, one attack helicopter for close air support, and maybe twenty heavy foot soldiers," she said.  
  
I could see the people of this village packing the tents and supplies. People armed with rifles got on top of the dino mounts.   
  
"You!" shouted Clayton, ruiding on top of a dinosaur, "you led the maggs here!"  
  
"They are as much my enemy as they are yours," I said.   
  
He pointed the rifle at me. "I may get killed today, but I'm gonna kill this traitor first!"  
  
"Stop it!" shouted Jonathan Reed. "I trust him now."  
  
I heard the noise of all the people carrying off their tents and stuff. I then heard a whistling sound.  
  
"Missile inbound!" shouted someone.   
  
I instincively got on top of a dino mount and then starting riding. I hoped this beast handled like a horse. Then I saw a streak.  
  
then I heard a massive explosion. The smoke covered my eyes. When I looked, I could see the bodies of the dead who were too close to the missile's impact site.   
  
Then I heeard another sound, the sound of a helicopter. Then I saw it.   
  
It was a small craft, with room only for two people. the emblem of the Kromagg Dynasty was on the hull. It started firing its machine gun. The humans scattered all about, and some of them fell. I took cover behind the massive tree trunks. I saw a laser beam come out from the underside, circling the ground below the helicopter and scorching everything in its path.   
  
"This is the Kromagg Dynasty!" shouted a voice from the attack helicopter's loudspeaker. "We have you surrounded. Surrender and you may live to serve the Dynasty!" The helicopter then flew out. I figured that when it comes back, it will be with the ground forces.   
  
I rode over to a fallen human, and grabbed the rifle, an amunition clip, and some grenades.   
  
"I hope I don't regret this, Mallory," said Clayton.  
  
"We have to keep the maggs busy until we sucessfully relocate," said Reed. "I hope the raid in the armory was worth it."  
  
I heard another missile come in, striking the ground near where the first missile struck. I then heard the helicopter come on.  
  
I saw Clayton holding a huge tube of some sort. I saw something shoot out of the tube and I heard a whistoling sound.  
  
My eyes tracked whatevercame out of the tube. I could see it was heading for the helicopter.   
  
It was a direct hit! The helicopter crashed to the ground in flames! Their air support was gone.  
  
Then was little time to celebrate, as I saw a laser beam shoot past me, hitting a tree trunk and leaving a big hole in it. I had to ride fast, maneuver around the tree trunks so the kromaggs could not get a clear shot at me. I rode the dino mount to another position. I then saw an armored vehicle, except it had tires and no turret.  
  
"This must be the APC," I said. I saw the door open. I immediately fired at the open door. then the soldiers came out. they were decked head to toe in armor. I fired a few more rounds, but they did not penetrate. They fired a few rounds in my direction, and I rode off.   
  
I met upo with Reed. "I think the main camp has gotten away," he said. "We've got to keep them...."  
  
It was interrupted with gunshots. I saw Reed down on the forest floor, bleeding. the next instant, I was riding off, trying to avoid getting shot by the foot soldiers.  
  
I looked around. I couild hear footsteps. It seemed the soldiers did not know where I was.   
  
Then I saw one of the kromaggs' tanks. The tank gunner was shooting with the machine gun located on top of the laser turret. Tanks had machien guns on top of the turrets as a defense against enemy foot soldiers.  
  
Or dino riders.  
  
His attention was fociused elsewhere, so I had one chance. I charged towards the tank with my dino mount. I pulled the pin from the grenade.  
  
then I threw it. I saw the grenade go into the turret; a direct hit! Then htere was an explosion. smoke was coming from within.  
  
I went on top of the tank and piulled the body of the kromagg soldier out. I went inside the cabin. There were two more soldiers in there, either dead or wounded.   
  
I took a pistol and shot both of them, to ensure they were dead.   
  
The console was charred, but seemed to be operational. I had to learn how to use the controls-fast. I noticed a viewscreen; it showed the point-of-view from the turret. There was a joystick; it rotated the turret.   
  
I squeezed the trigger on the joystick. a second later, the tank blew up! I then rotated the turret, aiming it at the armored soldiers. they were fleeing.  
  
I saw a human on a dinosaur riding towards me; I stopped firing the laser. I stuck my head out of the turret.  
  
"Mallory," said Clayton, riding on the dinosaur. "I'm sorry what I said about you earlier."  
  
"Apology accepted," I said. I got out of the tank. I went looking for Jonathan Reed.  
  
Minutes later, i found him. He was dead.  
  
"bring his body to the new camp," Clayton said to another human.  
  
"Okay," he replied.  
  
"So what now?" I asked.  
  
"I think it is time to honor Jonathan's memory," he said. "I've an idea."  
  
Clayton and I were riding in the tank again. "this is the spot," he said.  
  
I looedk out of the tank, and saw we were in a clear area circled by trees.  
  
"Let's start cutting down trees," said Clayton. "It looks like there's enough juice for that.  
  
I did the honors. I squeezed the trigger, using the high-powered laser to cut the trees down. One by one, the trees fell down.   
  
"That's enough, Mallory," said Clayton. "Let's get out of here before it falls upon us."  
  
so we did. We pushed the tank to its limit. then we heard a giant crashing sound.   
  
After a while, we stopped. Clayton and I looked out. We saw the huge circular platform where the air base and barracks are located, now touching the ground.  
  
"All right!" shouted Clayton. "Let's head to the new camp."  
  
We held a memorial service for Jonathan Reed and the other humans who had fallen. I could see that Wesley had broken down in tears over the loss of his friend.  
  
"You showed me the way to freedom," he said in Reed's eulogy. "you freed me even as I freed you."  
  
"May the Lord Jesus Christ welcome you to His Kingdom," I said.  
  
It was time for me to go.  
  
"Will I ever see you again?" asked Wesley.  
  
"Maybe," I said.   
  
"Mallory, you're a good fighter," said Clayton. "I would trust you with my very life."  
  
I smiled, knowing that I managed to save this version of Clayton.  
  
I looked at my watch. it was nearing zero.   
  
"Goodbye, you all," I said before seeping through the barriers between dimensions. 


End file.
